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For planning means no more than thinking ahead. Its purpose is not to reduce us all to a dull uniformity but to release each one of us from the restrictions imposed by squalor and irresponsibility. ('Guide to the Exhibition of Architecture, Town-Planning and Building Research')

At a time when there was a great need for new housing and urban regeneration and when plans for the redevelopment of Greater London and other urban areas were already being implemented, the Festival of Britain promoted the benefits of urban planning. Belief in the value of centralised planning was consistent with the Labour government's commitment to improving people's lives through state-driven social reform. Although some might argue that this form of socialist benevolence was equally a form of centralised control, albeit benign, the Festival displayed what many saw as a desirable vision of a people-orientated urban future.

The organisers, designers and architects seized the opportunity to demonstrate the way things could be, if we wanted them. (contributor Bill Fisher) Why not contribute your memories?